Woman of Substance

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Woman of Substance

Monday, 17 January 2022 | Mithila Naik-Satam

Woman of Substance

Shashi Shetty stepped in to help the most vulnerable sections of the society during the pandemic, says Mithila Naik-Satam

ASHA workers have been the first line of defense in the battle against Covid-19 in the rural parts of the country,” says Shashi Shetty, a social worker from Kalyan in Thane district of Maharashtra. Over the years, she has extensively worked towards the upliftment of individuals and children from marginalised communities in Maharashtra. Since the outbreak of the pandemic Shetty and her team have been supporting ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers in conducting drives to eliminate Covid-19.

Shetty starts her day early by taking stock of the tasks and coordinating over phone calls. Recently, she and her team organised a drive for the ASHA workers at Saralgaon in Murbad-Malshej Ghat in Maharashtra. “As a token of our support, we had organised a sari and grocery kit distribution drive to honour ASHA workers’ services during these tough times,” she said. While smiling warmly, she adds, “They have been risking their lives every day.”

Around 195 ASHA workers were present at the distribution drive, wearing brown saris and armed with notebooks in their hands. These women have been on the field each day, going from door to door in their assigned villages to spread the word and to check for symptoms, oxygen levels and temperature regularly. In addition, they have been performing their regular duties, which include pre and postnatal care for pregnant women and immunisation drives for children. Despite having been at the forefront of various disease surveillance programmes, including tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and now Covid-19, they are still struggling to be recognised as full-time employees. And during these times, they have been the first victims of the public’s fears about Covid-19.

During the distribution drive, Shetty applauded the service of these women, which instantly brought a wide smile to their faces. She said, “You’ve been given uniforms, you are an army.”

Discussing the way that the drive operates, Shetty says, “We work closely with the local sarpanch, Seema and Anil Gharat. They help us reach the most vulnerable people and families. We’ve supported close to 195 ASHA workers in these testing times,” informed Shashi.

An educationist and a hotelier, Shetty, was felicitated with the ‘Samaj Seva Ratna Gaurav Puraskar’ by the Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, on November 8, for her work done during the second wave for food relief. Currently, she is a part of the Indian Development Foundation (IDF), an NGO based in Mumbai committed to the health, education and development of marginalised communities.

Reflecting upon the outset of her journey, as a social worker, she said, “It started with IDF and our projects Aashayein and Annadanam which were a part of our SoVo (Social Volunteers) initiative. We work with young children to provide nutritious food and, in addition, organise both fun and educational events. This led me to the interiors of tribal Maharashtra.” She has been frequenting these tribal areas and reaching out to children and individuals from vulnerable communities.

For Shetty, the pandemic was a clarion call, “I have always wanted to be a soldier; find my calling and step up when called upon to serve the people. So here I was, one amongst the many — a foot soldier — in the battle against Covid-19,” she expressed.

Shetty strongly believes that one’s vibe attracts one’s tribe. That is when she connected with Khaana Chahiye Foundation — a citizen collective based in Mumbai — that had done phenomenal work during the first lockdown and continued to do so during the second wave. “Initially, their operations did not encompass Kalyan, but with one shared goal to help fight hunger, my team — Taurn Nagda, Dinesh Thakkar and the Kutch Yuva Sangh — we set up a community kitchen in the city and also catered to the remote interiors where we worked and had mapped,” shared Shashi.

Recently, Shetty and her team also arranged meals for special children at Avani Matimand Mulanche Nivasi Vidyalaya, a residential school for special children, in Murbad, Thane. And the list continues to grow.

— Charkha Features

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